Welcome to The Royal Belfast Academical Institution

Welcome to RBAI’s website, designed to give you a feel for the spirit and energy of the school. With over two centuries of educating boys, we continue to succeed in combining Academic Excellence and pastoral support with a wealth of extra curricular opportunities, all underpinned by a deep commitment to the needs and enthusiasms of each pupil.

Miss Janet WilliamsonM.A. (Oxon); NPQHPrincipal

Spotlight

Current pupil Angus Harley and past pupil Omar Helmy, on Wednesday 14 December 2016, at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, received recognition as two of Northern Ireland’s highest achieving learners. The Celebrating Excellence GCE Award Ceremony was in honour of “Students who have proven themselves to be at the highest levels of performance in their chosen subjects. They demonstrated the highest level of diligence, commitment and skill that has been unequalled by their peers”; Mr Justin Edwards, Chief Executive, CCEA.

On Wednesday 7th December Mrs McCord, the English Department and the school were privileged to welcome Tim Collins back to RBAI. Collins, whose illustrious military career culminated in him being awarded an OBE in 2003, garnered praise from Prince Charles and President Bush for his 'Eve of Battle' speech, which is said to hang in the Oval Office. So celebrated has his speech become that it is now widely perceived as a model of rhetoric and is considered particularly impressive owing to the spontaneous nature of its delivery. Further commendation of its worth is that it is studied as a GCSE text alongside Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, the most famous speech of the twenty-first century.